No Snow Frolicking for Northeast Apparel Retailers

Wall Street Strategies submits:by Brian SozziBy far, the influence of Mother Nature on retailers in January will dominate the discussion upon the same-store sales releases later this week. The onset of a full-fledged snow assault couldn't have arrived at a worse time for the nation's retailers, which broadly enjoyed a better than expected holiday season performance (online consistency plus November buying splurge). When the books are officially closed on the holiday quarter, I think it will go down as one that benefited from November consumer indulgence after a year of saving followed by the evaporation of good vibes as weather conditions soured in December/January. Northeast: Ground Zero of Mother Nature's Wrath November's surprising sales performance by retailers had the effect of leaving many lean on inventory of cold weather gear in December and January. During my mall tours throughout January, teen apparel companies had the unfortunate circumstance of displaying brightly colored t-shirts and woven tops. This is how the retail sector continues to operate; supply has to be bought months in advance, and retailers are quick to move wear-now product to showcase their new spring deliveries post holiday. Thoughts on the weather and how it impacted the Northeast include: * Delayed mall openings.* Parking lots turned into winter wonderlands.* Shifted consumer spending to blowers, shovels, salt, and heating oil/natural gas instead of a pair of pants and a t-shirt.* Likely caused a delay in gift card redemptions as consumers waited for juicier discounts on spring arrivals in February.*Complete Story »

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When the weather outside is frightful, consumers tend to stay indoors and go shopping online. And guess what they buy? Lots and lots of warm clothes. Mother Nature has a long history of making or breaking sales for retailers and manufacturers. Two years ago, for instance, the unusually mild winter translated into absolutely dismal sales of cold-weather gear such as winter coats, boots, hats, and gloves, as well as shovels, de-icing salts, and even flu shots.

When the weather outside is frightful, consumers tend to stay indoors and go shopping online. And guess what they buy? Lots and lots of warm clothes. Mother Nature has a long history of making or breaking sales for retailers and manufacturers. Two years ago, for instance, the unusually mild winter translated into absolutely dismal sales of cold-weather gear such as winter coats, boots, hats, and gloves, as well as shovels, de-icing salts, and even flu shots.

After retail bankruptcies soared an astonishing 110% in the first half of 2017 (something we discussed here: The Amazon Effect: Retail Bankruptcies Surge 110% In First Half Of The Year), it seems that the new wave of retail operators are finally figuring out that in-store payrolls and excessive mall rents are simply an insurmountable economic disadvantage in the post-Amazon world. The following info-graphic from the

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Water levels in the Great Lakes should remain mostly above average over the next six months as a powerful El Nino gives the region a break after two bitterly cold winters, but it's unclear whether there will be longer-term effects, federal scientists said Thursday.

New York (AFP) - The US northeast braced for a monster winter storm Monday, with residents snapping up supplies ahead of what New York City's mayor warned could be a blizzard "the likes of which we've never seen before."

WHITMAN, Mass. — A slow-moving storm centred far out in the Atlantic Ocean dropped more than a foot of snow on parts of New England, caused coastal flooding that washed away a home in Massachusetts, and turned Friday commutes into slushy crawls.
Flooding from the enduring storm, which buried parts of the Midwest and mid-Atlantic in deep snow this week before sweeping northward, closed some coastal roads north and south of Boston. An unoccupied home north of the city collapsed into the ocean as waves battered it.

As a potentially historic Nor'Easter is bearing down on the Northeast, the National Weather Service has issued a Blizzard Warning for Manhattan today, through Saturday at 1:00 p.m. New York's Metropolitan Transit Authority has warned that they will shut down bus service before the worst of the storm hits, and work on the subway for this weekend has been canceled.